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A SURVEY OF AUTOMOTIVE EMISSIONS AND THE RELATED CHEMISTRY OF AIR POLLUTION

THE GASOLINE-POWERED AUTOMOBILE HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED UNEQUIVOCALLY AS A MAJOR SOURCE OF THE SMOG, OR PHOTOCHEMICAL HAZE, THAT DEVELOPS IN HEAVILY POPULATED AREAS UNDER CONDITIONS OF PROLONGED STRONG ATMOSPHERIC INVERSION. A SUMMARY OF VARIOUS CATEGORIES AND SOURCES OF ATMOSPHERIC CONTAMINANTS IS PRESENTED AND PUT IN TABLE FORM TOGETHER WITH AN ESTIMATE OF THE NATURAL COMPONENTS WHICH EXIST INDEPENDENTLY OF MAN'S ACTIVITY. THESE ARE ROUGH ESTIMATES COMPILED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES. THESE MATERIALS ARE THE PRIMARY PRODUCTS INTRODUCED INTO THE ATMOSPHERE BEFORE THEY ARE AFFECTED BY RADIATION, MOISTURE, CHEMICAL REACTION, ETC. IN THE ABSENCE OF LONG TERM QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENTS OF THE EFFECTS OF SUBACUTE LEVELS OF VARIOUS POLLUTANTS, THE DIRECTION AND DEGREE TO WHICH THE AVAILABLE DATA ARE EXTRAPOLATED DEPENDS ON THE INTUITION AS WELL AS THE PSYCHOLOGICAL, ECONOMIC, OR POLITICAL MOTIVATION OF THE INTERPRETER. SUMMARIES OF CURRENTLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION AND THEORIES PERTAINING TO ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTANTS DERIVED FROM THE OPERATION OF GASOLINE POWERED VEHICLES, THEIR BEHAVIOR AND ULTIMATE FATE IN THE ATMOSPHERE, AND THEIR EFFECTS ON MAN AND HIS ENVIRONMENT ARE DISCUSSED.